


Human Anatomy

by ainagren



Category: Poldark (TV 2015)
Genre: F/M, Mild Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-10
Updated: 2017-11-10
Packaged: 2019-01-31 11:20:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12680850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainagren/pseuds/ainagren
Summary: Caroline finds Dwight in his study, forgetting bedtime because of an interesting new book.





	Human Anatomy

The darkness outside the Killewarren windows seems dense and material, pushing at the glass as if trying to break in and steal the faint light from the flickering candles in the bedroom, where Caroline is seated on the bedside, staring at the same page in her novel as she has been for the past half-hour or so. The weak light makes it hard to read, and her mind keeps wandering. Why doesn’t he come? Oh, married life is nothing at all like she had imagined it to be! It is so full of frustrations and misunderstandings, of irritation and anger – and of delight such as she has never known existed. 

She fingers the edge of her green and golden robe. For how long shall she wait for him? Will he not come to bed at all tonight? She hears the wind wailing outside, and the sudden clatter of rain against the panes gives her a jump. This is it! She will not take it any longer! A night like this, he has to be with her, and if he doesn’t come to her freely, then she will collect him.

The candlestick on the bedside table in her hand, Caroline makes her way through the dark corridor, trotting little patters of paws faithfully following her heels. Down in the hall, the fire is still burning, but the servants have since long withdrawn to their rooms. 

The door to Dwight’s study is ajar, and light is flowing out. Her heart is pounding hard, and now, tears make her eyes sting. How can he be so ignorant of her emotions? And how is it possible that she is so unimportant to him, that he chooses to study instead of coming to her? She swallows, then flings the door open without knocking. Horace trots in and puts his fat behind on her feet, yawning widely and then panting with his tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Dwight is looking up from his desk with a guilty face. He is quickly closing the book that has obviously kept him so swallowed up that he has forgotten is wife, and is trying to find some place to put it; in a moment of confusion he is looking around at the piles of papers and books lumbering up his work place, trying to move something to make room, and then giving up and putting the book to rest in his lap, his finger still marking the page where he was interrupted.

Caroline folds her arm around her waist, the candlestick still in her other hand, lifting her chin and giving him an accusing look.

“Well?” she demands, her voice laden with hurt.

Dwight, trying to look innocent, gives her an insecure smile and a flustered gesture, as if he doesn’t understand what it is about.

“Yes?” he answers. “What is it, my love?”

It seems he has not until now noticed that his wife is wearing her night gown and robe, and the realization makes him lift his eyebrows and straighten his back in his chair.

“Dwight, do you know what time it is?” Caroline asks, with the same hurt tone of voice.

“Eh … I actually have no idea”, he admits, shaking his head a little. “But I gather from the … situation, that it is about bedtime.”

Caroline snorts and blinks frantically.

“It is far more than so”, she says shortly. 

Dwight takes a deep breath, looking down on his hands. 

“I am sorry”, he says. “I was … caught up in my reading, and I lost track of time.”

She sniffs, blinking again to keep her tears in place.

“I see”, she says. “I suppose there is not much for a wife to say to her husband, if he prefers the company of his books. Come, Horace, let’s leave him.”

The pug rises to his paws and moves a few steps, but as Caroline turns towards the door, Dwight gets up from his chair, finally laying her competition on his desk, and comes up to her.

“Please, don’t be cross with me, my love”, he begs, putting his arm around her waist and pulling her towards him.

“Why should I not be cross?” she says. The feeling of his warm, strong arm weakens her heart and softens her body, and she has to fight her urge to throw herself around his neck. He kisses her temple; a soft, sweet, lingering touch of his lips.

“Perhaps, if I were to tell you…”, he begins, but stops and smiles.

It is enough to raise her curiosity, and she turns towards him, still with his arms around her, and looks at his face. His cheeks are unusually red; something that she has not noticed until now. There is something about this whole moment that is inaccessible to her, and she furrows her brow.

“What is it, Dwight?” she asks.

He smiles again, and looks down at her hand.

“I … I really cannot tell you, Caroline”, he says. “I oughtn’t.”

He smiles widely and looks her in the eyes with a mischievous glimpse, that makes her heart take a leap and gives her a blush. She narrows her eyes.

“Something is the matter, and I will not leave this room until you tell me what it is”, she says. ”Does it have anything to do with your studies?”

He laughs and kisses her cheek.

“You are an intelligent woman, my love”, he says appreciatingly. “You always have been!”

She immediately tries to take a step towards his desk, where the book that he has studied so fervently is lying abandoned, but Dwight holds her back, and takes a harder grip around her waist.

“No, no, no”, he says admonishingly, “you may not take a look at it. It is only for doctors, and, moreover, only for married doctors. So, you see, I cannot let you see it.”

Caroline has raised her eyebrows in utter astonishment, and now, she smiles in surprise.

“A book that is only for married doctors?” she repeats, unbelievingly. “Pray, tell me, what sort of book would that be?”

She notices his cheeks turning red again, as he looks away, before he meets her eyes, giving her a look that sends a surge to that lower part of her stomach that she has so recently discovered, and she bites her lip. Dwight clears his throat, still looking her deeply in the eyes.

“It is a book of human anatomy”, he says, and Caroline bursts out laughing.

“Oh, Dwight”, she giggles, “for a moment I really thought that it was something exciting!”

She laughs, and he cannot help but laugh, too, but when she looks at him again, she still sees that glimpse in his eyes.

“Trust me”, he says in his serious doctor’s voice, that sends a thrill down her spine, “there are some very exciting parts of the human anatomy. Especially…” he hesitates, then adds, “the female body.”

Caroline immediately turns red, and looks away.

“Dwight, for shame”, she says.

But he pulls her even closer, and whispers with his lips close to her ear:

“It is true, my love. I was caught up in the study of theory, because it inspired me to develop my practice. With you.” He kisses her neck. “And I hope that we will both benefit from my new knowledge.”

“Dwight”, she says again, in a tone that was meant to be harsh, but is quaintly weak. 

“I was told about this book during my education”, he continues, as if that is what is still occupying her mind, “and my tutor, dr. Gabriel, was very strict about it. He said it contained some specific chapters that were very debated, and he specifically emphasized that it was never to be read by unmarried doctors or students. When I was in London last time, on the doctor’s conference, I was reminded of it and managed to find a copy. And, I must say, it has the most enticing content.”

As he is whispering in her ear, he is letting his fingers swiftly caress her arm, then move on to her stomach underneath, slowly gliding downwards upon the thin fabric of her night gown, that is all that separates his fingertips from her delicate skin. Caroline is panting heavily, feeling her body burning.

“Why should it only be read by married doctors?” she whispers.

“Because it tells secrets of women that will make men go wild if they may not also study them more ... closely”, he whispers back, as his fingers stay on her most sensitive spot, spreading a warmth and a strange distress through her body that makes her shiver.

“Dwight”, she gasps.

He lets his fingers play a little, then hastily removes them, placing his hand safely back on her arm.

“May I suggest, mrs Enys”, he says in his deepest doctor’s voice and with a devilish smile, “that we continue this examination in the bedroom?”

“Yes, please, doctor Enys”, she smiles.


End file.
